TfL Outlet Rent (2)

Susan Hall: What is the impact – estimated or actual – of the coronavirus crisis on TfL’s income from outlet rent?

The Mayor: Coronavirus has had a serious impact on London’s economy. I am proud that Transport for London (TfL) took swift action to support hundreds of its small and medium sized business tenants who were hit particularly hard by the reduced footfall across London.
Rent relief has been issued to the value of £14 million this financial year. This directly affected TfL’s expected income but was a necessary step to help businesses survive throughout this difficult time, and to ensure tenants are retained on the estate in the longer term. As well as protecting revenue this measure also reduces TfL’s arrears and bad debt provisions and is entirely in line with the approach taken by the wider property industry as a result of lockdown.
As lockdown restrictions are lifted and businesses start to open, TfL will continue to provide practical support to businesses and will be monitoring any further impact on income levels.

TfL Outlet Rent (1)

Susan Hall: How much income has TfL received from outlet rent for the last 3 years – including 2019/20?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has a large commercial and retail estate offering fantastic opportunities to business of all types and sizes in London’s most valuable and enviable locations, often near the transport network.
TfL is using its estate to generate vital revenue to reinvest into the transport network. Over the last three financial years the rental income for the estate was £287 million. This has grown year on year, and is broken down to:

Family homes

Andrew Boff: Could you please provide the number of GLA-funded affordable homes with three or more bedrooms started in the financial year 2019/20?

The Mayor: Details of the bedroom breakdown for projects are published for the latest quarter at the link HERE, scroll down the page to see the section on ‘other’ information. These details are also sent the budget monitoring committee each quarter.
(Note: Information on the number of bedrooms for projects is not mandatory in GLA systems).

Royal British Legion (2)

Tony Devenish: The Royal British Legion have called for more to be done to raise awareness of the Armed Forces Covenant across the GLA group. What work on this is done currently, and how might it be expanded?

The Mayor: In June 2019 the Mayor signed an updated Armed Forces Covenant which include measures around housing, welfare and collecting data on veterans sleeping rough.
The Covenant named London Assembly Member Len Duval as an Armed Forces champion, who chairs regular stakeholder roundtables on behalf of the Mayor. These roundtables are an opportunity to connect stakeholders with relevant GLA teams and to identify opportunities for Mayoral supportfor issues affecting the armed forces community. In February 2020 a new Reserve Forces Training and Mobilisation Policy, which allows for up to 10 days paid leave for annual training for reservists working in the GLA, was approved.
In January 2020, the London Fire Commissioner signed a covenant with the UK armed forces. The agreement formalised London Fire Brigade’s (LFB) commitment to supporting the Armed Forces community and recognises the contribution to the country that serving military personal, veterans and their families have made and continue to make. It also set out for the first time a clear framework outlining how LFB staff who are reservists are supported, should they be called upon to serve. The Brigade has also committed to having up to 85 members of staff available to serve with the Volunteer Reserve Forces (VRF) of the army, air force or navy.
Transport for London has worked in partnership with a number of service charities to raise awareness and support fundraising. In addition, and as part of our commitment to the Covenant, the TfL Reservist & EX-Forces Staff Network Group (REFSNG) was set up to champion the value and expertise that ex-forces personnel bring to a complex and diverse organisation such as TfL. TfL runs an annual Ex-Forces Industry Day that provides a platform for ex-forces personnel to seek a new career in TfL and its supply chain. This has proved a huge success with over 2000 in attendance and more than 175 ex-forces personnel going on to full time employment.

Boroughs

Tony Arbour: Could the Mayor set out how much money the GLA has awarded boroughs during the crisis period?

The Mayor: The GLA has awarded a total of up to £5.328 million to boroughs during the COVID 19 crisis period. We have defined the crisis period as being after 23 March; the date of the lockdown.
The expenditure awarded is up to £5 million to fund a COVID-19 emergency support fund for the voluntary and community sector and civil society organisations. The £0.328 million expenditure is for the Thames Estuary Production Corridor.

TfL Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreement (12)

Alison Moore: The Government have required “immediate reintroduction of the London Congestion Charge, LEZ and ULEZ and urgently bring forward proposals to widen the scope and levels of these charges, in accordance with the relevant legal powers and decision-making processes”. Can you outline the relevant legal powers and decision-making processes you need to follow and when any changes will be implemented?

The Mayor: Changes to a road user charging scheme are made under Schedule 23 of the Greater London Authority Act 1999. Changes must be set out in a variation order which is made by Transport for London (TfL) and which only has legal effect if I confirm it. TfL is required to have regard to mayoral guidance when proposing changes to an existing scheme. It sets out my expectations, amongst other things, as to whether consultation is required, the length of any consultation period and publicity requirements.
An integrated impact assessment is usually undertaken in respect of the proposed changes. For the temporary changes I have recently confirmed, the IIA assessed their impacts on the environment, on people (including health and equality) and on the economy. It included an equality impact assessment which is relevant to the discharge of the public sector equality duty. The IIA was informed by the views expressed by stakeholders and the public.
TfL prepares a decision paper which outlines the detail of the proposals, potential impacts and rationale and evidential basis for the decision. I consider this paper alongside the variation order, IIA and any other relevant documents.
Notice of confirmation of the variation order is published and the public are informed about the changes through the usual channels.
I confirmed on 16 June that temporary changes to the Congestion Charge to increase the charge and extend the hours of operation would be introduced on 22 June. These proposals were brought forward in accordance with TfL’s funding agreement with Government and will help ensure the capital’s recovery from the pandemic is not restricted by cars and congestion.

A1 Sliproad, Fiveways Corner [2]

Andrew Dismore: Residents living nearby have expressed concern at the level of speeding that takes place on this 50mph road. This is dangerous given the number of schools in the area, and because it is so close to residential streets. Will you lower the speed limit on this road to 40mph to improve safety?

The Mayor: There are signal-controlled pedestrian crossings at the end of each of the slip roads on the A1 at Fiveways Corner in Barnet. These are positioned at the most appropriate locations due to the walls of the M1 elevated bridge structure which physically prevents anyone from crossing the slip roads. The 50mph speed limit is currently considered appropriate for this location considering the design of the road network which adjoins the Great North Way. However, tackling speeding remains a priority for TfL and its policing partners, and action is taken against drivers who put themselves and others at risk.

Affordable housing (4)

Andrew Boff: How many GLA-funded affordable homes started in 2019/20 were restarts from a previous year? Please provide a breakdown of these by the financial year when the original start took place.

The Mayor: There were no restarts from previous years in the starts on site reported for 2019/20.

Graffiti on the A406

Andrew Dismore: TfL have done a commendable job in removing graffiti along the A406 between Henley’s Corner and East Finchley High Road, yet more remains to be cleared. Please can you request them to go back and ensure all the remaining graffiti is removed, especially around the wall next to Tudor Primary School, and bus stop U at Strawberry Vale?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) paused all standard cleaning work when the lockdown was introduced in March, concentrating on safety-critical works only.
This meant that the graffiti removal at this location could not be completed. However, now that restrictions are beginning to be lifted, TfL will work with the London Borough of Barnet to make sure that this section of the A406 is cleaned during the next scheduled maintenance closures, which are expected to be this summer.

Affordable housing (3)

Andrew Boff: Of the £4.82bn allocated to the London Affordable Housing Programme, how much has so far been spent? Please provide a breakdown by financial year.

The Mayor: Details of expenditure by programme are available in the GLA audited published on the GLA website: https://www.london.gov.uk/about-us/governance-and-spending/spending-money-wisely/annual-accounts-and-governance-statement
The GLA has contractual commitments in place with housing providers to deliver all of the remaining starts on site required to meet the affordable housing target to March 2022. However, due to the impact of COVID-19 on the entire housebuilding sector we have requested a 12 month extension to the programme from MHCLG.

Affordable housing (2)

Andrew Boff: What is your target for GLA-funded affordable housing starts for the financial year 2021/22?

The Mayor: Please see my response to Mayor's Question 2020/1681.

Travel Concessions (2)

Alison Moore: How many passengers do you estimate would be affected by the proposed changes to under 18s travel and would you expect the scheme to be reinstated for the start of the new academic year in September 2020? How would those entitled to free transport to and from school under the 1944 Education Act from their local authority be protected?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) estimates that around 380,000 passenger journeys would be affected by the proposed changes to under 18s travel.
As required by the funding agreement, TfL continues to scope out all the issues that need to be taken into account when considering how to deliver the Government’s requirement to withdraw free travel from under 18s. This scoping of issues also includes how to support the ongoing provision of free school travel to those eligible.
The statutory right to free travel is just one of the reasons this requirement from Government is complex and ill thought out.

Agriculture Bill (2)

Leonie Cooper: MPs called on the Government to include an emergency food plan in the Agriculture Bill to tackle coronavirus hunger and our insecure, unsustainable food system. Have you considered updating your Food Strategy to ensure we are responding to this crisis?

The Mayor: My London Food Strategy was written with food system resilience at its core, working to ensure that every Londoner can access healthy, sustainable food. This includes the importance of tackling rising food insecurity, which results from an unsustainable food system and has been exacerbated by Covid-19.
Officers have worked closely with the Strategic Coordination Group and London Funders to help meet the emergency needs of Londoners during the crisis. This has included overseeing the establishment of community food hubs in every borough, providing emergency support to foodbanks and providing grants to VCS organisations through the London Community Response to help them respond to the crisis.
My food policy team is working with the London Food Board and its Boroughs Food Group to gather evidence, disseminate intelligence and capture best practice to inform our work on food system recovery and increase the resilience of the food system as part of the ongoing work to deliver our food strategy.

Rough sleeping (1)

Andrew Boff: How much of the £433m government funding to house rough sleepers will be allocated to London? What involvement will the GLA have in the allocation of this funding?

The Mayor: The additional investment in homes for rough sleepers is welcome and is what I and other Metro Mayors have been calling for. I am glad that the Government has listened and has set aside some of this money for the vital support needed for this vulnerable group once they move into those homes.
London’s allocation has not yet been announced, but it is vital that our share reflects the unique scale of the challenge we face in the capital. As with similar funding programmes, I expect the GLA to be making investment decisions, working closely with the Government, housing associations, boroughs, charities and others to support the development of bids and the delivery of homes and support.

Housing completions

Andrew Boff: Of the GLA-funded affordable homes started in the four years between 2016/17 and 2019/20, how many had been completed by April 2020? Please provide a breakdown by borough and number of bedrooms.

The Mayor: The GLA introduced a new project management system in 2018 and details of historic projects from legacy programmes completed prior to 2017 were closed in the historic system. For legacy programmes these records are held offline and therefore not included in the response below. Details of starts on site completed from 2017 onwards are shown in the table below. For a bedroom breakdown, please see Mayor's Question 2019/8946 setting out information that is available: https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2019/8946
For 2019-20 the bedroom breakdown is provided on a quarterly basis on the GLA website and sent the Budget Monitoring Committee each quarter (see MQ 2019/6358 ).
Start on site year
No. of Starts completed
2017-18
5,738
2018-19
3,425
2019-20
715
Total
9,878

Good Growth Fund Supported Projects

Shaun Bailey: How many good growth fund supported projects have you supported across London? Please give a breakdown of projects and funding per borough.

The Mayor: We have supported 82 Good Growth Projects across London.
PROJECTS
FUNDING ALLOCATED
Everyone Everyday
£850,000
Intensifying Barking’s Industry
£1,000,000
Kingsley Hall
£1,500,000
Studio 3 Arts
£500,000
Grahame Park Life
£200,400
Unlocking Harlesden
£110,000
Bedford House
£600,000
Queen’s Crescent
£1,100,000
Camden Innovation District
£50,000
WAC ARTS
£50,000
Arts and Skills Innovation
£35,000
Affordable Arts Studio St Bernard’s Chapel
£533,713
Transform and Perform T.A.P
£100,000
Kingsley Hall Church and Community Centre
£30,000
Thamesmead Community Enterprise & Learning Hub
£1,150,000
Plumstead High Street
£2,510,000
Enterprising Tottenham High Road
£2,000,000
Fashion Enter Tailoring Academy
£430,000
Connecting Wood Green
£900,000
Selby Trust
£50,000
Affordable Workspace for Creative Industry
£450,000
Greater London Mutual
£50,000
Nourish Food
£1,100,000
Harrow Arts
£760,000
Lyon Road
£485,000
Rainham SIL
£1,150,640
The Gramophone
£1,200,000
Ruislip Town Centre
£50,000
Boston Manor
£490,000
Our Feltham
£50,000
Centre 404
£640,000
Improving Public Assets
£350,000
Inclusive Growth on Finsbury Park
£1,030,000
National Youth Centre
£2,000,000
Estate of Play
£899,700
New Creative and Future Galleries
£418,500
Portobello Scheme
£50,000
Future Polka
£1,200,000
Reimagining Kingston Town Centre
£50,000
SHEDx
£385,239
Waterloo Works
£90,000
Southbank Undercraft Transformation
£700,000
198 CAL
£475,000
Brixton Rec Quarter
£2,070,000
Herne Hill, Engine Room
£55,000
Parent Led Childcare
£81,400
Grove Park
£10,000
UK’s First National Talent House for Urban Culture
£1,000,000
Scrubs Lane
£750,004
Grand Union Canal
£1,200,000
What Works
£50,000
VIY
£200,000
The Spark
£1,800,000
Camberwell Area Plan
£110,000
Mountview
£848,543
Livesey Exchange
£267,300
Blue Market
£2,000,000
Bricklayer’s Arms
£199,270
Africa Centre
£1,600,000
Southwark Playhouse
£750,000
Sutton for Science
£50,000
Bridging Neighbourhoods
£1,000,000
Enhancing Toynbee Hall Spaces
£340,000
Lower Lea Threads
£1,993,792
Revitalising Rich Mix
£50,000
Yard Theatre
£90,000
Battersea Arts Centre Community Garden
£150,000
The Friendship Garden & Pavilion at Lea Bridge Library
£410,300
Chestnuts Enterprise Centre
£50,000
Reigniting the Festival Church
£760,000
Church Street Triangle
£977,000
Expanding Kensal
£1,000,000
Somerset House New Creative Workspace
£501,000
Adiaha Civic Innovation Centre
£50,000
Penton Street
£50,000
Clitterhouse Farm
£50,000
BOROUGH
FUNDING
Barking and Dagenham
£3,850,000
Barnet
£250,400
Brent
£110,000
Camden
£4,807,505
City of London
£100,000
Croydon
£100,000
Ealing
£568,713
Enfield
£100,000
Royal Borough of Greenwich
£3,690,000
Haringey
£3,380,000
Hackney
£500,000
Hammersmith & Fulham
£1,100,000
Harrow
£1,245,000
Havering
£1,150,640
Hillingdon
£1,250,000
Hounslow
£540,000
Islington
£4,020,000
Kensington & Chelsea
£2,568,200
Royal Borough of Kingston Upon Thames
£435,239
Lambeth
£4,150,000
Lewisham
£91,400
Newham
£1,000,000
OPDC Area
£2,000,004
Pan London
£200,000
Rebridge
£1,800,000
Southwark
£5,775,113
Sutton
£50,000
Tower Hamlets
£3,473,792
Wandsworth
£150,000
Waltham Forest
£460,300
Westminster
£2,578,000

New build housing developments

Murad Qureshi: I understand we have had 452 new build housing developments started in the City of Westminster in the present financial year. Can you please give me a breakdown of all the developments in the borough that make up this 452 figure?

The Mayor: Westminster are currently entering details of the scheme starts for 2019/20 to the London Development Database, the deadline for finishing the process is the end of August 2020. Details of the residential units so far entered as having started during 2019/20 are included in the spreadsheet ‘LDD – Housing starts (Westminster 19-20)
The list below show projects located in Westminster with starts on site in 2019-20.
Projects/Address
Starts- on-Site
Ordnance Mews Garage, London
3
12D, 16D, 20D and 32D Blomfield Villas, London
4
217E, 223E & 227E Gloucester Terrace, London
3
20 & 20A Tothill House, Page Street, London
2
Helmsdale House Garage, 43 Carlton Vale, London
6
Melrose & Keith House Garages, 47 Carlton Vale, London
6
Ashmill, Marylebone, London
2
Hall Place, London
19
55 North Wharf Road, Paddington, London
16
Hathaway House, Woodfield Road, London
19
West End Gate, Edgeware Road
130
466-490 Edgware Road
45
90-104 Berwick Street
4
12 Carteret Street, London
12
Dora House,60 St John's Wood Road, St John's Wood, London NW8 7HN
153
34 Buckingham Palace Road, London
23
Excluded- See Note [1]
5

Total: 452
Note [1] Supported housing and single unit schemes have been excluded from this list to protect privacy.

Housing completions

Murad Qureshi: Can you please give me the figures for all the housing completions across London in 2019/20 under your housing investment programme, broken down by boroughs?

The Mayor: Please see the table below:
Affordable Completions
April 2019 - March 2020
Barking and Dagenham
101
Barnet
247
Bexley
199
Brent
213
Bromley
109
Camden
141
City of London
10
Croydon
242
Ealing
568
Enfield
193
Greenwich
394
Hackney
180
Hammersmith and Fulham
124
Haringey
4
Harrow
177
Havering
2
Hillingdon
64
Hounslow
277
Islington
174
Kensington and Chelsea
124
Kingston upon Thames
95
Lambeth
351
Lewisham
320
Merton
68
Newham
268
Redbridge
200
Richmond upon Thames
36
Southwark
585
Sutton
84
Tower Hamlets
1,562
Waltham Forest
254
Wandsworth
245
Westminster
160
Not specified
4
Total
7,775

London Land Commission

Tony Arbour: When do you intend to publish an update to the London Land Commission register, which was originally published in January 2016, as you have previously committed to do?

The Mayor: The London Land Commission register of publicly owned land in London was in December 2019 comprehensively updated through the provision of a revised publicly available map showing land in London owned by public bodies. This map delivers a significant improvement as identified sites are shown with their boundaries rather than a pin in the site. The register will be updated regularly through an automated process linking to Land Registry ensuring that data is accurate and up to date.
The map can be accessed at www.maps.london.gov.uk/public-land.

Nominee Passes - Lockdown

Susan Hall: Have any restrictions been placed on the use of TfL ‘nominee passes’ since the start of lockdown and, if so, what?

The Mayor: Since the beginning of lockdown Transport for London (TfL) has not added any restrictions or changes to the use of nominee passes.

Key worker homes

Tony Devenish: How specifically post Coronavirus will the Mayor actively increase the number of key worker homes? Please ensure you answer the "key worker" part of the question.

The Mayor: Last year I delivered a record 17,256 genuinely affordable homes, including over 8,500 new intermediate homes such as London Living Rent and shared ownership. My London Plan (Intend to Publish version) enables local authorities to set additional eligibility criteria, which can include the prioritisation of key workers, for new intermediate homes for the first three months of marketing.
In March, I set up a new Housing Delivery Taskforce to tackle the challenges that Covid-19 poses to the housing sector. This includes examining how to increase delivery of genuinely affordable homes, including those which could be prioritised for key workers. However, research published by City Hall and the g15 last year shows that to build enough homes to truly meet London’s housing need, a seven-fold increase in affordable housing funding from the Government is required.

Cycling on Pavements (1)

Tony Devenish: I am receiving increasing numbers of emails from constituents angered at the prevalence of cycling on pavements. Do you accept that, particularly as more money and effort is being put into making it easier and safer to cycle, there is a need to ensure that the pavements are safe for pedestrians?

The Mayor: Much of the work that Transport for London (TfL) is undertaking as part of my Streetspace for London Plan is to create more space for pedestrians. To provide this safe space, TfL has widened pavements across London. As more people take to cycling for their journeys, TfL is creating new temporary cycle lanes and improving existing routes in order to provide safe and segregated space for people cycling and, wherever possible, limit the interaction between cyclists and pedestrians.
Cycling on the pavement is dealt with through a combination of education, engagement and enforcement. TfL works with the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) to engage and educate all road users. Police officers and TfL’s Operational enforcement Officers engage with riders to encourage them to dismount or to leave the footway, with the majority of riders complying. Where aggressive or antisocial cycling on the pavement poses a risk to pedestrians or other road users, MPS officers can use their discretion to respond fairly and proportionately.

Rent control

Andrew Boff: What evidence does City Hall have to back up the Mayor’s rent control proposal?

The Mayor: As set out in my blueprint for reforming private renting, London’s renters – and particularly those on low incomes - are among the most disadvantaged in the UK and continue to face unaffordable rent levels that have consistently outpaced earnings.[1] A quarter of renting households spend more than half of their income on rent.[2]
London is one of the few western global cities without any form of rent control. We can learn from international precedents, such as those set by Paris, Berlin and New York, to design an effective system of rent control for London.
My blueprint calls on Government to devolve powers to City Hall to reduce rents and keep them at more affordable levels. As well as more affordability, this will also provide security and stability. This is particularly important for the growing number of families with children who rent from private landlords. Families with children now make up a third of private renting households, with 1 in 10 having to change their children’s school due to moving.[3]
Londoners back my proposals, with 68 per cent supporting the introduction of rent controls.[4] Under my proposals, the London Private Rent Commission would undertake detailed work to determine the best model of rent control for London.
[1] GLA, ‘Housing in London 2018’
[2] GLA analysis of English Housing Survey, 2018
[3] Shelter, Growing up renting: A childhood spent in private rented homes
[4] Polling conducted as part of the GLA/YouGov polling programme 17th – 20th December 2018, with a response of 1,086 London adults.

Public land (1)

Andrew Boff: How many homes have been started on public land since May 2016? Please provide a breakdown by financial year.

The Mayor: Data from the London Development Database shows that 37,931 homes have been started on public land during the years 2016/17 to 2018/19 (the last year that comprehensive data on permission starts is available). The breakdown by year is as follows:
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
Total
Units started on public land
21,125
6,932
9,874
37,931
These figures have been calculated by plotting the site location recorded on LDD against the sites on the Map of Publicly Owned Land (https://maps.london.gov.uk/public-land/). All units within a permission share the same site location and start date. Developments delivered in phases may have multiple permissions, and while permissions that have been fully superseded have been excluded from the data, there may be some double-counting of units where only a partial superseding of a larger permission has occurred.

Communications across communities

Onkar Sahota: What efforts is the GLA making to ensure people whose first language is not English are kept up to date on coronavirus related health guidance?

The Mayor: To address the need created by Covid-19, I have created a languages section on the GLA’s Covid-19 guidance hub that collates Covid-19 resources and services in community languages.
I have partnered with Doctors of the World to sustain their work in translating government guidance into more than 60 languages. Translations are available in different shareable formats so that digital and non-digital communities, as well as those who have basic literacy needs, are able to access vital information. We have also created a stakeholders’ toolkit with social media assets on key messaging translated into 14 languages.
The Covid-19 guidance hub also includes guidance from the Employment Rights Hub with information and advice on workers’ rights in 20 languages.
Alongside this work, I will continue to lobby central government to provide vital information in community languages so that nobody is left behind as we respond to the coronavirus outbreak.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Andrew Boff: How many times has Thames Water notified the LLDC of sewerage overflows into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the past year.

The Mayor: The LLDC has notified Thames Water on each of the four occasions when there have been potential sewage discharges over the last year.

Public land (2)

Andrew Boff: How many homes have been completed on public land since May 2016? Please provide a breakdown by financial year.

The Mayor: Data from the London Development Database shows that 15,230 homes have been completed on public land during the years 2016/17 to 2018/19 (the last year that comprehensive data on completions is available. The breakdown by year is as follows:
2016/17
2017/18
2018/19
Total
Units completed on public land
5,639
4,229
5,362
15,230
These figures have been calculated by plotting the site location recorded on LDD against the sites on the Map of Publicly Owned Land (https://maps.london.gov.uk/public-land/). All units within a permission share the same site location.

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park

Andrew Boff: How many times has sewage been discharged into the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in the last year?

The Mayor: The LLDC is aware of four incidents of potential sewage discharge over the last year. Two incidents occurred on 29 April 2020; one at Henniker’s Ditch in the north of Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and another at the Water Glades Pond, which is owned by East Village. On both occasions, the incidents were reported to Thames Water and the Environment Agency (EA). LLDC’s contractor cleaned the area at Henniker’s Ditch and East Village cleaned the Water Glades Pond. The third occasion was on 7 June 2020 with discharge following heavy rainfall into Henniker’s Ditch which was reported to the Environment Agency and Thames Water. LLDC’s contractor cleaned the area. The fourth incident at Henniker’s Ditch was reported to Thames Water on 11 June 2020, again following heavy rainfall. The area is being cleaned by LLDC’s contractor and LLDC is working with Thames Water and the EA to identify the cause of the problem and where responsibility lies.

West Hampstead Tube Station

Andrew Dismore: Please provide an update on plans to install step-free access at West Hampstead’s Jubilee Line Station.

The Mayor: A feasibility study for step-free access at West Hampstead was completed in March 2019. It showed that step-free access is possible at this station.The scheme is not currently funded in the Transport for London Business Plan, and a source of third party funding would need to be identified in order for it to be progressed further.

Covid 19 contact tracing

Andrew Dismore: The Government intends to use an app to aid its Covid 19 contact tracing; are you satisfied that the app proposed will work in London; and are you satisfied with the data protection arrangements for the app?

The Mayor: I am committed to working with the Government, London’s boroughs and NHS London to support the NHS test and trace service and save lives, whilst being clear that the use of digital technology must have strong safeguards for Londoners security and privacy.
I wrote to the Secretary of State in May regarding the deployment of the NHSX app in London, expressing my concerns around its effectiveness in our dense, highly populated areas; contingencies for those that are digitally excluded; security and privacy considerations; and London’s capacity to undertake the mass testing and contact tracing required to slow the disease. I emphasised the need to incorporate the Information Commissioners’ Office (ICO) advice when developing the NHSX App and understand there has been active engagement as the pilot on the Isle of Wight developed.
As of 18 June, the UK government is now shifting to a ‘decentralised’ model based on technology provided by Apple and Google, which is more privacy-focused then the original NHXS app approach.
The highest privacy standards are essential to build and maintain the public’s trust, my Chief Digital Officer will continue to monitor the situation and advocate on behalf of Londoners.

Buses in Outer London

Navin Shah: I am pleased to see that Londoners are being encouraged to travel by walking or cycling. However, for people in outer London who need to get into the centre, walking and cycling is not always an option. I have seen news reports of key workers in Brent piling onto packed buses in order to get to work, often disregarding social distancing. Has provision been made for extra bus services in particularly oversubscribed areas in outer London where bus travel is often the best option?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) is monitoring passenger loadings on buses route by route. However, coronavirus has affected driver availability, meaning that TfL has been unable to run a full schedule on all bus routes. It aims to return to normal services as soon as possible and has prioritised the busiest routes for the reinstatement of services. It is also analysing demand and crowding hotspots and looking to reallocate resources where possible to the busiest times and locations to increase capacity.
TfL’s Travel Demand Management is key to making the best possible use of capacity by encouraging people to walk or cycle where possible and to avoid busy locations and times on public transport. TfL has been working with schools, retailers and employers and has encouraged them to stagger their opening times.
My Transport Strategy recognises the importance of buses in outer London. In the coming months, TfL will continue to review the impact of social distancing and changing demand patterns on the bus network, as well as understanding the financial impact of Covid-19 on its planning.

TfL Bus Contract Monitoring: Required action in respect of any unsafe practices

Caroline Pidgeon: In the event of an “unsafe practice being undertaken by a [Bus] Operator” Section 8 of Schedule V (“MONITORING OF OVERALL PERFORMANCE”) of TfL’s Framework Bus Contract (http://content.tfl.gov.uk/metroline-bus-contract.pdf)gives TfL “a right of immediate access to the Operator’s premises and vehicles to investigate.”Since you have been Chair of TfL, how many times has this clause of Schedule V been invoked? Please provide the date, location, name of Bus Operator, reason for inspection, inspection findings, details of actions taken and any further monitoring actions by TfL.

The Mayor: As far as Transport for London (TfL) officers are aware, this clause hasn’t been formally invoked in my time as Chair of TfL. In this period, there has been extensive oversight of activities through planned safety inspections, audits, and regular vehicle checks.
The contractual relationship between TfL and its bus operators is strong, with an open culture built around sharing of information, allowing access to premises and vehicles and carrying out investigations into significant events.

Disabled TfL Passengers

Navin Shah: I have been contacted by disabled constituents regarding the Streetspace plan. They acknowledge the positive reasons why this has been put in place, but point out that road closures make it incredibly difficult to travel as they rely on their cars. In particular, one constituent points out that it is now difficult to reach the hospital they attend regularly. Can you provide assurances that TfL’s plans are inclusive and that decisions are made with disabled people in mind?

The Mayor: My London Streetspace Plan is using £55m to deliver a range of temporary interventions across London, working on Transport for London (TfL) and borough roads. With social distancing requirements meaning that only a fifth of normal passengers can be carried on our public transport system when it is back to operating at full strength, millions of journeys a day will need to be made by other means. The Streetspace Plan will rapidly transform London’s streets to accommodate significant increases in cycling and walking.
We know that not every journey can be walked or cycled and for some people, this may not be an option. But millions of journeys can be made that way. We want to enable all those who can, to walk and cycle – freeing up space on public transport and roads for those who can’t.
We will ensure that any interventions to support walking and cycling maintain current accessibility levels and wherever possible enhance them so that vulnerable groups can move around in safety. We are also working closely with the boroughs to enable and help coordinate activity so that any new infrastructure is delivered in a consistent way across TfL and borough roads.
We are conscious that for some people, walking and cycling are not always accessible, and that we need to ensure that disabled people can still move around London. London has the largest accessible bus fleet in the world, and buses will still have access to the majority of streets in central London and TfL is doing more work to determined what access taxi and private hire vehicles might have as part of these plans. TfL is also aiming to maintain existing blue badge exemptions.

Taxi and private hire vehicle licences

Caroline Pidgeon: Taxi and private hire Notice 05/20 states that taxi or PHV vehicle licences which have expired or are due to expire between 23 March 2020 and 30 June 2020 will remain licensed for a period of six months pending the full assumption of vehicle inspections and a decision by TfL on the grant of a new licence. What reasons exist that other taxi or private vehicles cannot also be provided with a short and one off extension of their licences if there are cases of drivers being unable to work during this time period? Do you agree that licence extensions should be based on the period that a driver has been unable to work due to Covid-19 rather than merely the time period set out in TPH Notice 05/20?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) introduced temporary arrangements for taxi and private hire vehicle licensing, as set out in TPH Notice 05/20. TfL introduced these arrangements specifically because of the temporary closure of its vehicle inspection centres which have now reopened.

Cycling on Pavements (2)

Tony Devenish: If you agree there is a need to ensure that the pavements are safe for pedestrians, what are you doing to stop cyclists riding where they shouldn’t?

The Mayor: Please see my response to Mayor’s Question 2020/1860

Equality Impact Assessments

Jennette Arnold: Were Equality Impact Assessments done on the removal of free travel for older Londoners and under-18s? If not, will you conduct these vital studies?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) carried out an Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA) for the temporary changes to the Older Person’s Freedom Pass and this formed part of the Mayoral Direction MD2642. The EqIA is published as Appendix 2 to MD2642.
For the proposed temporary removal of the under 18s concessions an EqIA will be carried out once proposals from Government become clear and before I am asked to make a decision on the proposals. I would consider this in taking any decisions and this would be published with any decision form.
The under 18 proposals are still being developed in discussion with Government as part of the conditions imposed under the funding package from Government.

Statutory sick pay

Onkar Sahota: How many people are eligible for Statutory Sick Pay only, in London? If you do not know this, given how important it will be for considering the effects of NHS Trace instructions to isolate, will you ask GLA Economics to research it?

The Mayor: Data on the level of sick pay for workers in the UK/London is limited and not widely reported. There a two forms of available survey data on this matter[1]: (1) the Health and wellbeing at work survey (2014) and (2) a recent UK survey by the CIPD (2020), a survey during the coronavirus pandemic.
These surveys suggest that around a quarter of employees received SSP only, this would account for approximately 950,000 employees in the capital, according to ONS stats on the number of employees[2].
[1] The sample sizes of these surveys, although representative are relatively small at approximately 2,000 and 1,000 respectively, so figures should be interpreted with caution.
[2] Employees stats, ONS regional labour market stats (Jan-Dec 2019)

Protecting transport workers from assault by spitting

Caroline Russell: On 2 June 2020 the Commissioner for Transport for London (TfL) said that there have been 60 reported incidents of spitting at transport workers since the start of coronavirus lockdown. What measures are you taking to ensure that all London’s transport workers are protected from assaults such as spitting?

The Mayor: All transport staff have the right to work without fear of abuse or intimidation and tackling work-related violence against Transport for London (TfL) staff remains a priority. The incidents of spitting, which have primarily been targeted at bus staff are appalling, and alongside the police, TfL is taking the strongest possible action against offenders.
Measures have been taken to protect bus drivers, such as the initial move to middle door boarding. As front door boarding has been reintroduced, all openings in the protective screens by the driver’s cab have been sealed off, including communication holes and openings for cash payments. All bus drivers have been encouraged in the reporting of incidents and reminded to use the spit kits they have been issued to help catch offenders.
Processes have also been put in place to ensure that spitting incidents reported to the police are dealt with quickly and as a priority, and assurances have been sought from the Crown Prosecution Service that incidents against staff are treated as seriously as incidents against public servants. The work by TfL’s Workplace Violence & Aggression Team and the Metropolitan Police Service’s Roads Transport Policing Command has led to suspects being identified and charged quickly, with a number of strong sentences handed out at court.
TfL has continued to progress its Work-related Violence and Aggression strategy during this pandemic, including the planned roll out of 4,500 Body Worn Video cameras to frontline staff; recruitment and training of around 135 Transport Support and Enforcement Officers, victim support, customer-facing communications and visible policing. Revenue protection staff are also in the initial stages of undertaking a visor trial, which will be analysed before any decision is made regarding continued use.

Funding for cladding remediation in the social sector

Andrew Dismore: The Government has told social and public housing owners they can only get funding from the new £1 billion cladding remediation fund to the value of costs they have passed on to residents, rather than the whole cost of remediation. What will be the consequences of this?

The Mayor: A key consequence of this decision is that private registered providers and councils may have to divert resources away from building the new genuinely affordable homes that London desperately needs towards the cost of remediating unsafe buildings. Additionally, social landlords will have fewer resources available for general repairs and maintenance on existing homes and may increase rents, both outcomes that could have a detrimental impact on the quality of life for social housing residents. Finally, without full Government support for remediation costs, it may leave social landlords with no choice but spread costs over a longer period of time, decreasing the pace of remediation.
The Deputy Mayor for Housing and Residential Development has written to the Minister for Building Safety outlining these issues and raising concern about the potential equalities impact of treating social landlords differently to other private building owners applying to the fund.

Supporting Harmony Hall

Jennette Arnold: Harmony Hall in Walthamstow is a multi-cultural family centre and a vital asset for the community. Please provide an update on how you are supporting the charity CREST and its supporters to access the funding necessary to keep the Hall available for public use.

The Mayor: The Good Growth Fund is my £70m regeneration investment programme, set up to support projects that demonstrate the principles of Good Growth. CREST applied to Round 3 of the Fund in 2019 as part of an effort to raise monies to purchase Harmony Hall, reaching the second stage of the application process. My regeneration team were highly supportive of the innovative partnership approach to securing this vital civic asset, and therefore placed the project on the Reserve list so that CREST can benefit if future funding becomes available. It is also hoped that the ‘Reserve’ status will bolster local support and strengthen chances of successfully securing the site, giving CREST additional time to progress existing risks around delivery and secure match funding. CREST were encouraged to submit an expression of interest for my ‘Financing Community Enterprise Pilot’. The scheme aims to support up to 10 organisations to access specialist support across the areas of legal, governance and business planning. The launch of the pilot has been postponed due to Covid-19.
CREST could also access other GLA initiatives supporting creative industries and civil society. My Culture at Risk office aims to safeguard London's cultural life and to support organisations, venues and people across the creative sector. By registering with the office, those in the culture and creative sector will receive tailored services to support them during this unprecedented time and also receive up to date resources and guidance.
I have also contributed £5m - joining over 50 funders -to the London Community Response Fund, to support organisations responding to the needs of communities affected by Covid-19. The Fund has awarded over £11m to organisations across London and is about to launch wave three of funding.

Measuring overcrowding in London (2)

Siân Berry: Further to my question 2018/0126, I note that Islington Council is using overcrowding advisors to offer households in the borough help and advice on managing overcrowded homes, and what realistic options could be available for them. Given the coronavirus lockdown will have exacerbated the stress of living in an overcrowded home for many families, when will you conduct a full survey of overcrowded homes down to ward level, so that help and advice can be targeted where it is needed the most?

The Mayor: London boroughs are best placed to understand which of their neighbourhoods have higher rates of overcrowding, using data sources including local housing needs registers, environmental health and private rented sector enforcement. A new London-wide survey with a large enough sample to produce accurate results down to ward level would be very resource-intensive, and unlikely to represent a good use of public funds at this stage given that the results of the 2021 Census could well be available before the results of this new research.

Culture Budget

Susan Hall: Please can you list the total GLA culture budget for each year May-April from 2016 to 2020?

The Mayor: London's culture and creative industries generates £58.4bn each year and provide one in six jobs in the capital. They drive tourism and hospitality and will play a vital economic and social role in accelerating the capital’s recovery from COVID-19.
Entire expenditure of the Culture and Creative Industries Unit from April 2016 to March 2020 financial years is below, including the GLA's joint statutory duty to fund the Museum of London with the City of London.
Culture Expenditure
Total
£ m
16-17 Expenditure
12.5
17-18 Expenditure
13.9
18-19 Expenditure
16.6
19-20 Expenditure
18.6

Green recovery (2)

Leonie Cooper: Many Londoners who normally experience a blight of aircraft noise have welcomed the drop in air traffic. How are you working with airports, airlines and the Government to prevent noise rising again after the lockdown?

The Mayor: I am keenly aware of the significant aircraft noise exposure to which thousands of Londoners are normally subject, and the welcome respite that has been provided in recent weeks.
There is no legal mechanism by which to restrict noise levels once flights resume. However, the Government has said it will consult on aviation and carbon in the Autumn, to inform a new aviation strategy. I intend to make a submission to urge Government to seize this opportunity and will call for a credible strategy for reducing the environmental emissions of aviation, in terms of carbon but also with regard to air quality and noise.
More widely, I have raised the importance of locking in the environmental benefits of the lockdown with the Transport Secretary, and he agrees.

Extended construction hours

Andrew Dismore: The Government intends to allow construction sites to apply to work until up to 9pm to catch up with lost time during the Coronavirus lockdown. Do you agree that in most residential areas in London this is deeply unwelcome and will result in longer hours of noise and disturbance, especially to older residents and families with small children?

The Mayor: Necessary public health measures to stem the flow of COVID-19, including social distancing, use of PPE and intensive hygiene regimes, have increased development costs and reduced the productive capacity of development sites across London. New government guidance encourages boroughs to take a positive approach to requests to change site operating hours in order to make up for lost productivity to deliver the homes London badly needs. Disturbance from construction sites is a real concern in London and longer operating hours has the potential to cause longer hours of disturbance for neighbouring residents. However, the Government guidance stresses the need to mitigate impacts on residential amenity. It is essential that applications for extended site operating hours are considered on a case-by-case basis, having regard to the nature of the request, the potential impacts on neighbouring amenity and any proposed mitigation.

State aid rules after December 2020

Andrew Dismore: What will happen to the requirement not to breach state aid support of 200,000 euros in the administration of cladding remediation funds after the UK’s transition period in leaving the EU ends in December 2020?

The Mayor: The Government’s intention is that that all enforcement and supervision responsibilities for State Aid currently held by the European Commission are due to be taken on by the Competition and Markets Authority.
This being the case, State Aid rules will continue to apply to the cladding remediation funds after the transition period ends in December 2020.

Registrations with the new cladding remediation fund

Andrew Dismore: How many buildings in London are registered with the system the Government has commissioned from Faithful + Gould to speed remediation?

The Mayor: The registration system for the new £1bn Building Safety Fund is managed by the Government without GLA involvement. As a result of that, the GLA does not hold this information.

State aid breaches - June

Andrew Dismore: How many instances of an “economic undertaking” (for the purposes of state aid rules) breaching the 200,00 euros over three years limit have been recorded in the administration of the cladding remediation fund in London?

The Mayor: No awards of grant from the Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund have been made in breach of the €200,000 limit for de minimis aid. Five leaseholders in London have had their grant capped in order to comply with this limit. State Aid rules apply to any payments under this fund for the benefit of any private leaseholder who is an ‘undertaking’. This includes commercial leaseholders and individuals who are landlords. Individuals who live in and own only their own home are not undertakings and therefore not subject to any limits on grant as a result of State Aid.

TfL Outlet Rent (3)

Susan Hall: Have any rental outlets in TfL stations/properties been given any form of payment holiday during the coronavirus crisis – if so, from when, and what is the estimated cost of this?

The Mayor: With the restrictions in movement introduced as part of lockdown, it was clear that the pandemic would have a profound impact on Transport for London’s (TfL) commercial tenants, most of whom are small businesses. In March, TfL acted quickly to announce a package of support for tenants which covered Q1 (March-June). These measures included:
TfL’s approach was subsequently adopted by a range of public and private sector landlords. It was also supported by the Federation of Small Business and the Guardians of the Arches.
Total rent relief has been issued to the value of £14 million this financial year. This directly affected TfL’s expected income but was a necessary step to help businesses survive throughout this difficult time, and to ensure tenants are retained on the estate in the longer term.

Furloughed Londoners (2)

Leonie Cooper: What support can you provide to workers who have been furloughed and now may be made redundant due to the changes in the Job Retention Scheme? How can your Adult Education Budget support them to get new skills during a recession?

The Mayor: The GLA has launched a £9 million Skills for Londoners covid-19 Response Fund to enable London’s adult education providers to deliver more online learning. The fund, paid out of the Adult Education Budget (AEB), supports AEB providers to increase their delivery of online courses, helping furloughed and unemployed workers to develop skills and access new employment opportunities.
Moreover, the GLA will deliver the national basic digital skills entitlement (BDSE) for all adults over the age of 19 from September. The BDSE will be funded through the AEB and allow learners to gain the entry and level 1 digital skills vital for work and life.
The GLA is also taking steps to give adult education providers more flexibility within their budgets to deliver tailored provision targeted at meeting immediate labour market needs and to support furloughed and unemployed workers as we move through recovery.

Key Workers use of Freedom Pass during Temporary Restriction

Joanne McCartney: Government conditions for the TfL funding deal temporarily restrict the hours during which Londoners can use their Freedom Pass. This includes many key workers who are essential for the COVID-19 response, such as healthcare workers, and who have no choice but to continue to use public transport to get to work during these restricted times. Can TfL find a way to reimburse these additional unexpected costs for such workers, similar to the reimbursement scheme set up for the congestion charge?

The Mayor: There are no plans for a Freedom Pass reimbursement scheme for NHS/care workers as a result of restricted time changes. Restrictions to the hours for Freedom Pass use is in place to help reduce the risk of crowding and assist with social distancing on TfL’s network at the busiest times.
TfL has provided reimbursement for the congestion charge as it acknowledges that travelling to work by car can help reduce the risk of NHS/care workers coming into contact with others as they travel to and from the workplace, which is paramount in the fight to save lives.

Disproportionate Impact of COVID-19 on BAME Communities

Joanne McCartney: I welcome your call for an independent inquiry into the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on BAME communities. What evidence are you gathering and how will this impact City Hall’s future work?

The Mayor: It is vital that we have a full understanding of the inequalities facing Londoners from BAME groups. Addressing these inequalities is central to my work on London’s Recovery.
To gather further evidence, I have published analysis on the socio-economic risk factors of Covid-19, based on evidence collected before the pandemic, which illustrates how risk varies across the population. My team is also collecting regular data on the needs of Londoners through a weekly questionnaire of frontline civil society organisations.
In recognition that the Public Health England review would not provide full evidence of Londoners’ needs, I commissioned new research to explore evidence relating to all groups with protected characteristics, including those not identified in published health data. When published in the autumn, this will help us understand how protected characteristics intersect with socio-economic factors in London to create the unequal impacts of Covid-19 that we’ve seen, including the direct impact of the disease itself and the wider impacts on employment, education, health and other areas.

London Housebuilders

Tony Devenish: Following data from the Insolvency Service that 368 housebuilders collapsed in 2019, compared to 207 in 2016 when you became Mayor of London, how many of these operated in London and what, if anything, did you do to ameliorate this terrible outcome?

The Mayor: The data published by the Insolvency Service are for the country as a whole and do no not provide figures for London, and the GLA does not hold its own data on this topic.
I recognise the significant role that SME housebuilders play on housing in London, and the impact political and economic uncertainty have had on their ability to stay afloat. To support SMEs and reinvigorate the homebuilding sector, I launched the “Small Sites, Small Builders” programme in 2018. This pilot aims to bring small publicly-owned surplus sites to the market, for development by SME builders. The new London Plan also makes a commitment to support SME builders by setting ambitious ten-year targets.

Small Sites

Tony Devenish: What are you doing to accelerate the very small number of pilot small sites in the programme run by the GLA and TfL? How many home starts will small and medium sized builders, non-G15 Housing Associations and other smaller players including community land trusts, have built by March 2021 in London in partnership with you?

The Mayor: The Small Sites Small Builders programme was launched with 10 pilot sites in 2018. Since then a further 30 sites have been brought to the portal as set out in Mayor’s Question 2019/20851. Promotional work has been undertaken with potential partners, including a bidder’s day event which was well attended with representatives from 16 boroughs. The three subsequent bidding rounds have seen a consistent increase in engagement from boroughs, with 10 boroughs applying for capital or revenue funding in the most recent round.
The 16-21 Affordable Homes Programme will have supported a forecast 7,350 starts by March 21 from non G-15 RPs and other organisations. The Specialist Housing Fund has supported a further 325 starts. In addition, there will be 33 starts from Community Led Housing groups by March 21 with an additional 67 expected to start on site by March 22. From the Small Sites programme 125 homes are forecast to start on site by March 21.

Under 18s Travel Concession

Joanne McCartney: What is Transport for London’s estimation of the cost to London Boroughs if they have to pick up the bill for the government’s decision to withdraw the Under 18s travel concession?

The Mayor: Transport for London is investigating all issues that need to be taken into account when considering how to deliver the Government’s requirement to withdraw free travel from under 18s. The costs will vary depending on the nature and number of system changes and process required and, as I set out in my most recent correspondence with Grant Shapps, Government has not yet clarified its expectations for the scheme.

TfL Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreement (9)

Alison Moore: A £55m Active Travel Plan to promote cycling and walking, including new segregated cycle lanes, closures of roads to through traffic, and pavement extensions, will be agreed and overseen by a dedicated oversight group comprising TfL and HMG. Please publish details of the plan and how the £55m will be spent as soon as possible?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has been working closely with London boroughs to deliver vital measures to enable social distancing to take place and encourage people to walk and cycle, rather than relying on public transport or switching to private motor transport. These measures are being delivered in record time, reflective of the need for rapid action to protect public safety.
£45 million of the £55 million Active Travel Plan is planned for schemes delivered on borough roads, including Low Traffic Neighbourhoods, School Streets, cycling infrastructure improvements and increased pedestrian space at town centres. Funding has already been confirmed for hundreds of borough-led projects, with boroughs submitting new requests to TfL for funding weekly. Extensive guidance has been published for boroughs here https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/improvements-and-projects/streetspace-for-london
The remaining £10 million funding is used by TfL to deliver additional measures to enable social distancing at key locations on the road network, such as Brixton and Edgware Road, along with improvements to cycle facilities, such as the new cycle track on Park Lane and upgrade of CS8 between Chelsea Bridge and Lambeth Bridge.
More detailed information about the plan will be published in the coming weeks.

Annual cost for pot-hole repairs

Murad Qureshi: How many pot-holes do we have annually on the red routes managed by TfL and what is the annual repair cost?

The Mayor: The number of potholes on Transport for London’s (TfL’s) road network varies from year to year.
In response to previous Mayor’s Question 2020/1417, TfL advised that 16,289 potholes were identified and fixed between 1 January 2017 and 31 December 2019. This equates to approximately 5,400 per year.
TfL does not separate its budget or spend specifically for potholes as this is covered by the lump sum payments made to its contractors as part of London Highways Alliance Contract (LoHAC).
However, detailed below are the total costs of all highway defect routine repairs and emergency call out repairs for the last three completed financial years. This does though include other highway defect repairs besides potholes.
2017/18 = £9,729,115.36
2018/19 = £9,183,600.32
2019/20 = £9,271,151.95

Affordable housing (1)

Andrew Boff: What is your target for GLA-funded affordable housing starts for the current financial year 2020/21?

The Mayor: A total of 58,960 starts on site have been reported against the Mayor’s target to start building 116,000 genuinely affordable homes by March 2022. In each of the last three years the target for new starts agreed with the Government has been met, with more new affordable housing starts in 2019/20 than in any year since the records began in 2002/03.
The remaining 57,040 homes are all in contract and due to be delivered across the remaining two years of the programme. However, the impact of Covid 19 restrictions on programme delivery is being reviewed with delivery partners and MHCLG and will impact the targets for this year and next. At this stage housing starts are less than 20 per cent of the levels we would expect in Q1. For this reason, we have requested a 12 month extension to the current programme from MHCLG.

Average Service Charge Levels for GLA-funded Properties

Unmesh Desai: Does the GLA collect data on levels of service charge for properties funded by the GLA, and if so, could you provide an average figure per property for each London borough? If not, could you give an estimate for what you would regard as a reasonable average service charge for a new home in London?

The Mayor: The GLA does not collect data on levels of service charge for properties funded by the GLA. The level of service charge will depend on the nature of individual housing developments and so it is not possible to define a ‘reasonable service charge’ for London. However, the Mayor has set out best practice for how housing providers should manage service charges in his Shared Ownership Service Charges Charter. This states that ‘intelligent design should be used to minimise service charges wherever possible’.

TfL’s Monitoring of its Bus Contractors’ Covid-19 Risk Reduction Actions

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide me with the exact dates and locations of scheduled inspections, unannounced spot checks and audits that TfL has undertaken since March 2020 of (a) bus depots to ensure that bus companies were policing social distancing between drivers and routes (b) toilet facilities to ensure they really were cleaned, and that soap and hand sanitiser were freelyavailable and (c) buses and depots to ensure that enhanced cleaning of vehicles and rest/meal rooms was actually carried out.

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL’s) priority has been to protect drivers as quickly as possible with safeguards like better sealed off cabs, a cordoned off area next to the cab, the move to middle-door boarding to segregate drivers from customers, and the furloughing of 2,800 of the most at-risk staff.
Social distancing in garages and rest areas has been enforced by operational managers and union representatives stood down from their usual duties to reinforce this. Any significant issues concerning safety, toilet provision and cleaning have been raised at network conference calls, which the operators and TfL senior bus officers dial into, and at regular calls with Unite representatives. This has enabled the issues to be worked through on a day-to-day basis. During a public health crisis, this is a more agile way to highlight and resolve problems as and when they occur.

Crossrail (2)

Gareth Bacon MP: Once Trial Running begins on Crossrail, how long is it anticipated to take?

The Mayor: Crossrail Ltd will need to undertake an extended period of Trial Running to fully test the Elizabeth line and build its reliability before it can open for passenger service. Trial Running will be followed by a final phase known as Trial Operations, involving people being invited onto train and stations to test real-time scenarios. Discussions are underway between Crossrail Ltd and the Office for Rail and Road to confirm the length of time required to complete intensive testing of the railway.

Compliance with the “Shared Ownership Charter for Service Charges”

Unmesh Desai: How does the GLA monitor compliance with the “Shared Ownership Charter for Service Charges”, and what avenues for redress are there for residents who feel their housing provider is not treating them fairly with regard to service charges?

The Mayor: My Shared Ownership Charter for Service Charges is an agreement between the GLA and shared ownership housing providers and I expect that those who have signed up to the Charter to fully implement the principles set out in it.
If leaseholders have concerns relating to service charges they should take this up with their landlord directly in the first instance. If they are not satisfied with the response they receive, leaseholders can challenge the reasonableness of service charges at the First-Tier Tribunal. Further information is available in my Leasehold guide for Londoners.

Crossrail (4)

Gareth Bacon MP: How many Crossrail stations have been certified as ready for Trial Running and how many are left to be certified?

The Mayor: All central section stations, except Bond Street, have been certified as ready for Trial Running. Crossrail expects that Bond Street will be certified for Trial Running in the coming months.

Construction works on unsafe high rises affected by covid-19

Andrew Dismore: Of the buildings with ACM cladding in contact with the GLA over remediation funds, how many have seen works delayed owing to coronavirus-related reasons?

The Mayor: In April 2020, I joined local leaders in a pledge with the Government to encourage vital cladding remediation work to continue where possible during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nevertheless, the COVID-19 pandemic is causing delays to cladding remediation. Of buildings under the Private Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund, all four sites where works were suspended are back in operation. On the Social Sector ACM Cladding Remediation Fund, 8 sites remain closed with plans to restart in June.
The impact of the outbreak on constructions sites and the progress of remediation will not be limited to the lockdown period itself. The delays will be cumulative due to contractors needing time to adapt to new ways of working, delays in the delivery of materials, and reduced capacity resulting from reduced presence on-site labour to achieve physical distancing on site.
Delays to remediation as a result of COVID-19 mean that interim fire safety measures must continue for longer. Because of this, I have called on the Government to fund the ongoing cost of waking watch so that residents do not bear the burden of this cost. I’m extremely disappointed that the minister, Lord Greenhalgh, has ruled this out, and I would urge him to reconsider.

Non-ACM dangerous cladding

Andrew Dismore: How many residential buildings of 11m or more in height in London have non-ACM cladding that does not meet revised fire safety standards? Please break this down by borough and by public / private ownership if possible.

The Mayor: The GLA does not hold this information.
It took the Government far too long to start comprehensive data collection on buildings over 18 metres with types of unsafe cladding other than ACM, and the exercise is ongoing. This extremely challenging exercise is being carried out by local authorities but will not be completed before summer 2020.

Crossrail (5)

Gareth Bacon MP: What work is being undertaken to understand the impact of COVID-19 on the Crossrail delivery programme and what are the conclusions of this work so far?

The Mayor: The Crossrail Chairman explained to the Transport for London Board on 2 June that, if unmitigated, coronavirus will have an impact on Crossrail’s programme schedule. Crossrail Ltd has developed multiple scenarios but considerable uncertainty remains as it isn’t clear how the pandemic will develop or what policy responses will be put in place.

TfL Unoccupied Property

Shaun Bailey: How much of TFL owned property was unoccupied before and after the start of Covid-19?

The Mayor: Transport for London (TfL) has a large commercial and retail estate offering fantastic opportunities to business of all types and sizes in some of London’s most important locations, often near the transport network.
As with all large commercial estates, there will be some empty units at any one time due to natural turnover in tenants and ongoing renovation works to improve the condition of the estate and help attract new business.
As the UK went into lockdown, there were 157 units available to rent on the TfL estate out of 2,500 units. At the end of May this had increased to 161 units. The fact that there was no significant increase in this period is testament to the swift action TfL took to support tenants on its estate including offering rent relief and bespoke payment plans.

TfL Land Value

Shaun Bailey: What is your estimate of the total value of land and buildings that are owned by TFL, not including stations, railway and roads?

The Mayor: Transport for London’s (TfL) balance sheet at 31 March 2020 contains non-operational land assets valued at a total of £1,726m, comprising £1,423m commercial property, £120m car parks and £183m head office buildings.
TfL also has investments in the form of property development joint ventures that are currently valued at £202m.

TfL Extraordinary Funding and Financing Agreement (13)

Alison Moore: TfL will seek to maximise the construction activity within TfL’s remit. How many construction sites are within TfL’s remit, how many were brought to a safe stop during the period of lockdown and how many have been re-opened?

The Mayor: Approximately 310 Transport for London (TfL) sites were in the construction phase when around 300 of them were brought to a Safe Stop in late March 2020, to help prevent the spread of coronavirus. Since then, design and other preparatory work on many of these projects has continued, with staff and many of TfL’s contractors working from home.
During the next few weeks, site preparation to accommodate social distancing and construction work will safely begin in a phased way on a number of projects vital to supporting jobs and homes, or providing essential transport infrastructure, across the capital.
These include major capacity improvements and extensions for Tube and rail, such as the Northern Line Extension to Battersea, the Bank Station Capacity Upgrade and the extension of the London Overground to the new housing development at Barking Riverside. They also include the transformation of Old Street Roundabout, Cycleways, safety improvements to some key road junctions, new walking and cycling infrastructure to support social distancing by encouraging active travel, and new affordable housing initiatives at Kidbrooke and Blackhorse Road.
Work will also restart on some step-free access improvements at stations including Cockfosters, Harrow on the Hill, Mill Hill East and Wimbledon Park, as well as station enhancements at Bromley by Bow, Finsbury Park, Knightsbridge and Tottenham Hale. Asset renewal works on DLR, Trams and London Overground are also due to resume. Opportunities to restart work on other projects continue to be reviewed across TfL’s capital delivery programme, and further updates will follow as soon as they are available.
Nine TfL sites remained open for operational safety reasons throughout the Safe Stop period.

Cycle skills

Caroline Pidgeon: With the growth in cycling and the purchase of bicycles it is disappointing to see TfL’s website page https://tfl.gov.uk/modes/cycling/cycle-skills dedicated to the provision of cycle skills stating that ‘Cycle training is not currently available’. Will TfL ensure that the growth in cycling across the widest range of people is fully supported by an extensive cycle training programme being provided at the earliest opportunity?

The Mayor: Cycle training is going to play an important role in enabling Londoners of all ages to get on a bike, and TfL is hoping to spend £4 million on delivering and promoting a mix of online and face to face cycle training this year.
Our discussions with Government indicate that London will now be eligible for cycle training funding through The Bikeability Trust, bringing us in line with the rest of the country. We are still in discussions with DfT to confirm these arrangements.

School Streets

Joanne McCartney: How many schools have and will benefit from your school streets initiative? Have all London Boroughs applied for City Hall funding for their schools?

The Mayor: As of 17 June 2020, 154 School Streets have been granted funding across various London Boroughs. TfL continues to welcome applications from the remaining boroughs.

London Living Rent and Shared Ownership - Staircasing

Caroline Pidgeon: For GLA funded homes, please provide figures for a) the number of shared owners who have purchased a larger share of their property (staircased) over the last five years, broken down by month, borough and by the percentage of their property purchased; and b) the number of London Living Rent tenants who have moved to purchasing their own home or a share in their own home, broken down by borough and month.

The Mayor: The Statistical Data Return dataset published by the Regulator of Social Housing provides data on the number of sales in which shared owners have staircased to 100 per cent ownership. Please see Mayor’s Question 2020/0208 for a breakdown of this data by year and borough from 2016 to 2019 or Table 1 for a breakdown over the last five years. Data on post-sales monitoring of shared ownership staircasing for GLA funded homes is not separately recorded by the GLA.
London Living Rent launched in September 2016 and offers tenants ten years to save and buy a share in their home. The GLA does not hold data on tenants who have so far taken up this opportunity.

Unsafe Cladding

Caroline Pidgeon: I am aware that the GLA will administer the £700 million London share of the Government’s Building Safety Fund, but the capital’s housing associations recently announced that they estimated it would cost around £4billion to replace dangerous cladding on buildings in London. What more are you doing to ensure the capital’s dangerous cladding is removed and replaced as soon as possible so that people are safe in their homes, both in terms of lobbying the Government, but also through your powers and levers as Mayor?

The Mayor: I welcome the new £1 billion Building Safety Fund for the remediation of unsafe non-ACM cladding systems. I have already written to the Government urging them to remove the barriers social landlords face in accessing the funding. These barriers mean social landlords will be forced to divert their own funds away from investment in much needed new affordable homes and into cladding remediation.
In high-rise residential blocks it has not been possible for fire authorities to use the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 to require the removal of the cladding. The Fire Safety Bill, which is currently progressing through Parliament, will make that an option available to the fire authorities. The London Fire Brigade has welcomed this move.
Before Christmas the Homes for Londoners Board wrote to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government to raise the issue of building remediation. Having received no response, I wrote again at the end of February. To date, I have received no reply.
I will continue to lobby Government to implement wholesale reform of the building safety system and establish a new regulator with real powers to enforce, as recommended in the Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety released two years ago.

Shared Ownership Homes Value (1)

Caroline Pidgeon: Can you please provide figures for the number of shared ownership homes funded by the GLA, broken down by borough and year, with a market value of between a) £500,000-£600,000; and b) £600,000+.

The Mayor: The GLA does not hold complete data on the market value of shared ownership homes funded by the GLA.
Data on shared ownership sales reported by registered providers is provided by MHCLG through its COntinous REcording of Social Housing Lettings and Sales (CORE) dataset, however, it does not distinguish between homes that did or did not receive GLA funding.
CORE data suggests there were 269 shared ownership sales in London in 2017/18 with a market value between £500,000 and £600,000, equivalent to 16 per cent of the total shared ownership sales in London in that year; and 225 with a market value over £600,000, equivalent to 13 per cent of the total.

Shared Ownership Homes Value (2)

Caroline Pidgeon: Please provide the market value for the most expensive shared ownership property in London funded by the GLA.

The Mayor: The GLA does not hold complete data on the market value of shared ownership homes funded by the GLA.
Data on shared ownership sales reported by registered providers is provided by MHCLG through its COntinous REcording of Social Housing Lettings and Sales (CORE) dataset, however, it does not distinguish between homes that did or did not receive GLA funding.
CORE data suggests the market value of the most expensive shared ownership property sold in London in 2017/18 was £960,000. The purchaser of the property had a household income of £68,000 and bought a 25 per cent initial equity share in the property.

TfL funding settlement

Andrew Dismore: Is it likely that the TfL funding settlement agreed with the Government will result in reduced services, such as cuts to capacity and length of bus routes?

The Mayor: No. Transport for London (TfL) was already progressively ramping up service levels to pre coronavirus levels before the settlement was reached. The agreement with Government supports this and service levels are being increased each week as driver resources become available.

Further Education estates

Jennette Arnold: What assessment have you made of the ability for London’s Further Education estates to maintain social distancing? Could the Skills for Londoners Capital Fund be used to increase space for social distancing?

The Mayor: Assessing the scale of the ability of London’s further education estates to maintain social distance, is outside the jurisdiction of the GLA, however officers have been working closely with the Association of Colleges and their providers to support providers’ plans for social distancing. Feedback from providers to date also indicates that a significant proportion of learning is now continuing online.
The City Hall team leading on the Skill for Londoners Capital Fund has been working with successful applicants to ensure investments can continue to be made in light of the disruption caused by COVID-19.
Officers working with the LEAP are exploring a number of options to see how capital investment contingency and emergency funding could support the sector at this time.

Overcrowding and COVID-19

Andrew Boff: Analysis by Inside Housing has shown a clear link between hotspots of COVID-19 deaths and overcrowding - of the 20 local authority areas where COVID-19 has claimed most lives per 100,000 people, 14 also have the highest percentage of households in homes with fewer bedrooms than they need. London has many overcrowded households and tackling overcrowding will be key to a sustainable COVID-19 recovery. What support can be offered to these households now, and what more will be done to minimise overcrowding in the future?

The Mayor: Inside Housing’s research demonstrates how long-standing housing inequalities, including overcrowding, have - tragically - exacerbated the impacts of the Covid 19 crisis.
I am helping overcrowded households in private rented homes by supporting local authorities with enforcement, and providing tools like my Rogue Landlord Checker. I am also using both my investment and planning powers to deliver many more social rented homes. My London Plan includes a new requirement for boroughs to set size mix requirements for the social rented homes delivered in their area. Using my powers in these ways will help tackle overcrowding in the longer term.
But the Government needs to act too. It must ensure local authorities are adequately resourced to meet their duties to households who do not have suitable accommodation. And it is only with a significant increase in funding for affordable housing from the Government that we will be able to fully address overcrowding.

Funeral Costs and COVID-19 (2)

Jennette Arnold: What work is your office specifically doing to support those struggling with funeral costs?

The Mayor: My coronavirus hub signposts Londoners to a range of useful information and support to help them cope with grief and deal with a bereavement during the coronavirus crisis. This includes signposting to information about Government help with covering the cost of a funeral of a close friend or relative (including a child under 18).
My officers are also collating a wider range of resources to help low-income Londoners maximise their incomes which will be added to the coronavirus hub. They are exploring options for disseminating this information (including help with funeral costs) to Londoners who are offline or less likely to access the London.gov.uk website.

Funeral Costs and COVID-19 (1)

Jennette Arnold: A constituent has raised concerns about the costs of funerals for families who are already struggling financially as a result of COVID-19. What conversations have you had with government to raise the issue of funeral costs?

The Mayor: I have publicly and privately called on the Government on numerous occasions since the start of the coronavirus crisis to suspend benefit limitations and NRPF conditions to ensure that everyone who needs it can access the services and financial support they desperately need, including support with funeral costs.
Low-income families may be able to get support from the Government with the funeral costs of a close friend or relative if they are claiming certain benefits, and anyone, no-matter how much they earn, can get support with the cost of the funeral of a child under 18.
Whilst this support, and the Government’s decision last year to pay it upfront, is welcome, the fact that Funeral Expenses Payments are limited to people on certain means-tested benefits excludes some groups, most notably those with no recourse to public funds (NRPF) conditions and undocumented migrants.

BAME young people

Jennette Arnold: How will you use your Skills for Londoners programme to support young BAME Londoners to reduce economic injustice in a post-Covid-19 recovery?

The Mayor: COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on young people and BAME Londoners will require bespoke support for these group to help address economic inequalities in our recovery from the pandemic.
The Mayor’s Construction Academy, Digital Talent and European Social Fund programmes each aim to address under-representation and will continue to target young BAME Londoners post Covid-19. The Adult Education Budget will also be a key resource in supporting BAME Londoners to get the skills they need to progress in our recovery. In the first 6 months of the academic year 56 per cent of Adult Education learners were from BAME communities.
City Hall is committed to reducing employment and economic inequalities through our COVID19 recovery work which will continue to address these issues through programmes like the Workforce Integration Network (WIN) and London Enterprise Advisor Network (LEAN) to promote careers and enable young BAME Londoners to access the training they need to secure future job opportunities within their respective sectors.

Child Poverty and COVID-19

Caroline Pidgeon: New statistics released show child poverty has risen by over 100,000 in the last ten years, and that in the last five years it has risen in every single London Borough. How are you working to reverse this trend, particularly in light of the impact the COVID-19 crisis is having on the poorest families in the capital?

The Mayor: I’m extremely concerned about the effect the lockdown is having on low-income families and those at risk of destitution. It took concerted and sustained action between multiple partners and tiers of government to drive down high levels of child poverty between 1997 and 2010. It is that level of focus and ambition we require to reverse the increase we are now seeing.
At City Hall we’re doing all we can to help including pledging £5 million to the London Communities Response Fund, developing our successful pilot to tackle child poverty through schools, and updating London.gov.uk with vital information and advice for low-income working families and renters.
But the true levers to tun the tide on poverty lie in the hands of the Government. They should start by removing the Universal Credit five-week wait and NRPF conditions to give all families immediate access to financial support – and by scrapping the benefit cap and the two-child limit which are unnecessarily pushing families into poverty.

Adult Education Budget

Jennette Arnold: Thank you for your answer to question 2020/1556 on Adult Education Budget (AEB) flexibility during Covid-19. You stated that you have set up a Covid-19 Response Fund, worth up to £9m, for AEB providers to expand their online provision, adapt courses and build capacity to ensure they are equipped to support more Londoners to learn remotely. How many providers have so far applied for the Fund, what are the criteria for awarding money under this Fund, and how long currently will this Fund be available?

The Mayor: The Covid-19 Adult Education Budget (AEB) Response Fund has two strands.
Strand 1is support additional provision to meet the immediate demand for learning and skills in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The closing date for the Fund was 31 May. The criteria for support is for applications from grant-funded providers to demonstrate the response to demand for skills, readiness to deliver and need for additional funding.
Strand 2 is one-off grant allocations to support the costs of building capacity in the London skills sector. The closing date for the Fund is 30June. The criteria for support is the return of an application to build capacity to address the challenges of delivering learning at distance. The Fund is available to all organisations with an AEB funding agreement or contract, except those which are not funded from August 2021. A table providing a list of the successful applications will be provided in July.